Differences between Vi and Vim

Vi and Vim

SimpleSysAdmin.info. Vi and Vim both are the useful text editor for unix or linux system. But before you read this article, maybe you want read my previos article that discuss about LINUX COMMAND LINE TO READ A FILE -PART 2.Some of linux distribution using vi as default, and some of them using vim as default. Vi is an text editor from early days of Unix. It became quite popular and made its way into the Single Unix Specification (SUS) and POSIX, but wasn’t freely available until 2002. Vim stands for Vi Improved. Vim is designed for use both from a command-line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface. But, did you what is big differences between Vi and vim? Well, in this article will explain big differences between these two.

Big Differences Between VI and Vim

Syntax Highlighting

Vim can be programmed to highlight portions of the buffer in different colors or styles, based on the type of file being edited. There are hundreds of syntax highlighting rulesets bundled with Vim.

Unlimited Undo

In vim, you can undo your four last command and vi can undo only the last command. When was the last time you typed “zzzz” and then found out the caps lock key was on? You accidentally joined five lines together, in Vim you can undo all four “z” commands and get your original text back.

Portability

Vi is only available on Unix. Vim works on MS-Windows, Macintosh, Amiga, OS/2, VMS, QNX and other systems. And also on every Unix system.

GUI

Vim works well at a console, but it can run natively in many GUIs, including X Windows, Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows. It uses native GUI widgets for scrolling, dividing buffers, and menuing. It can also talk to the clipboard.

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